When fans of the Emo Senator, Southern Minnesota's favorite online telenovela, last left our hero, the capricious lawmaker from Waseca was hoping to punish Governor Dayton and his evil gardener by preventing daycare providers from secretly voting for a union.
Not that the Emo Senator wants a majority signup election--but no union election at all.
But as predictably as the rain and snow that falls on the verdant forests, fields and prairies of Minnesota's First Congressional district, Mike Parry is contemplating letting someone vote. For him, in the 2012 race against Tim Walz.
Friday's Morning Take reported:
CD1: State Sen. Mike Parry has been meeting with activists and operatives and seriously considering running in 2012 against Rep. Tim Walz. Speculation that he would announce Monday is not true. However, according to people close to Parry he is making calls to key GOP donors in the next few days and is expected announce in the coming weeks. Parry has told some that the field will be clear and that fmr. Rep. Randy Demmer isn’t going to run, and neither is Sen. Julie Rosen.
However, the Shadow of the Draz still lingers. Forum Communications veteran political reporter Don Davis writes in Redistricting: New districts mean many would-be candidates not ready to pull trigger:
State Sen. Parry, of Waseca, says he is thinking about running against Congressman Walz and is checking with potential donors and other supporters.
Sutton said that it probably would be pretty safe for Parry to get into the race because Mankato and Waseca are close and likely to be in the same district after Feb. 21.
However, for Rep. Drazkowski, from Mazeppa, launching a Walz challenge now is different.
“That is a little bit more of a political crapshoot,” Sutton said, because Drazkowski lives in a county that borders the 2nd Congressional District, represented by fellow Republican John Kline. “He lives on a border county that could flip back and forth between the second and the first.”
Party chairmen do much of the congressional candidate recruiting and are struggling in 2011.
Last month, Sutton told the Winona Daily News MNGOP would consider backing Draz before the convention.
So far, neither Parry nor Drazkowski show up in the online database of filings at the Federal Election Commission.
Will the Emo Senator throw off the last vestiges of false modesty as he throws his hat into the ring? Will The Draz take the plunge? Will the gardener at the governor's mansion outdo Parry's standards for home lawn care? Tune in to the next episode!
Photo: Mike Parry, the belle of Southern Minnesota. Image by Tild.
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